


Mindless

by CaptainThunder



Series: Inktober [2]
Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-11-28 00:09:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20957201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainThunder/pseuds/CaptainThunder
Summary: The second of my Inktober prompts "Mindless".This work is based on Mushin, to some extent.





	Mindless

Hanna stands perfectly still looking forward. Even with open eyes she sees nothing. Or rather, she sees everything. She sees the oni a few hundred feet away, she hears them beating their shields and armored chest, she hears the commander shouting some speech he no doubt prepared quell the fear from his soldiers heart, she sees the vultures overhead who are already waiting for the feast to come. She sees and hears all of this, but all of it is so far away and irrelevant. None of it matters. She is a Vanguard, one of hundreds here in verdant fields and one of the thousands of human soldiers. What that means is that she will die here with her blade in her hands. She will die breaking the enemy's lines and sowing chaos in their ranks. That's what she was trained to do and not even that matters. 

She hears some more shouting from the human commander and she feels her legs start to move her forward. Slowly at first, but picking up the pace. Faster and faster she moves until she’s at a dead sprint, her heavy armor not doing anything to slow her down in the least. She’s more at home in the armor than out, after all. It will make a fine coffin. She sees the oni ready for her and the rest of the Vanguard. They have shields down and spears forward in a very human tactic. Or maybe it’s universally useful against massed infantry. It doesn't matter. They're getting closer. Too close. Hanna just watches as her body reacts without input, twisting her hips and pulling with her shoulders. As a result, she twists just enough that the spear slides harmlessly against her chest plate while at the same time her 20 pound sword arcs down from overhead, cleaving both the shield and the warrior behind it in two. She watches as her body continues with the motion, twisting her body and pushing against the sword tip that is now planted in the armored remains of the oni laying on the ground. In a display of gymnastic dexterity and Olympic level strength, she pushes herself off the ground, using her own blade almost as a pole vault. 

There are a few weightless moments where all she sees is the sky, and then she crashes, landing on something that crunches beneath her armored boots. All around her is movement. Both enemy moving to react to this the warrior who just landed about five feet back from the front line and her fellow Vanguard, already fighting and dying around her. If she was thinking, she would know that a little over half made it past the shields, but she’s not. Hanna is simply an observer as her body acts, flowing with the tide of combat. She feels her legs, hips, back, and shoulders all pulling under the tremendous stress of her blade singing through the air, carving through flesh, bone, and armor. She feels warm splashes of liquid soaking into the seams between the armor plates. She even feels enemy blades occasionally tearing into the vulnerable portions of her body. None of this breaks her trance. None of this pulls her back to herself. Not even when the hammer strikes her across the helmet, ripping it clean from her head and very nearly doing the same to her ear. Not when she stops seeing her brethren around her, not when the main forces crash against the weakened enemy lines, and definitely not when enemy begins to retreat. 

Suddenly, her body come to halt and she doesn't know why. She just stands there with her blade over her head. The field is sparse now, the only people still standing are those her body doesn't need to swing at. She hears someone call her name, she blinks, and everything come crashing back in. The screams of agony, the stench of death, sight of bodies torn to asunder. This time it's not far away. This time it's all too close. Finally, with the trance boken, Hanna drops to her knees, letting go of the blade and vomits. She grateful for having a light breakfast. She hears a familiar voice again and feels pressure against her shoulder pauldron. Its the Commander, and when he speaks its with a familiar gentle tone. He says “Its good to see you made it out the other side. Let's get you to a medic, shall we?” 

She feels him pull her up by the elbow and she screams in pain. Probably a stress fracture. She glares up at the command and she gets to her feet on her own power. Commander Arthur gives a sheepish grin, a look that's not as charming as he might think, given that his face and teeth are covered in blood. Hanna just sighs and starts walking towards the nearest group of medics as the pain of everything finally sets in. Without looking back, she says to commander “How many are left.” 

Arthur, following behind and says “Of us? My guess is about 60 to 70 percent alive and and 40 percent still on their feet. Not bad for a battle like this.”

Hanna sighs and stops, looking out over the field of bodies. She cant help but wonder how many are hers. She tries to think of the battle, but all she gets are pieces. Being in that trance is so much worse than a nightmare. Its like her mind is just gone and she’s just there to watch. She shudders and waves at the medics, trying to get their attention before she bleeds out.


End file.
